ANDREW Johns has launched a passionate defence of Jarryd Hayne as the NRL’s prodigal son prepares to play his first game for the Parramatta Eels in over three years.

Hayne will line up for the club in its western Sydney derby against Penrith on Sunday, making his first appearance in the blue and gold since he quit rugby league in 2014 to pursue his NFL dream with the San Francisco 49ers.

The representative fullback turned centre endured a tumultuous season-and-a-half on the Gold Coast after signing with the Titans in mid 2016 following his failed bid to win a place on Fiji’s Olympic rugby sevens squad.

He copped plenty of backlash for quitting the Titans while still under contract and faced questions about his attitude and fitness because of less than stellar performances on the pre-season training paddock.

Hayne’s teammates and coach Brad Arthur have routinely defended the star signing and Johns was no different, telling his critics to pipe down and enjoy watching a bona fide superstar in action.

“He’s a superstar, he’s an out-and-out superstar,” Johns said on the Channel 9 Footy Show on Thursday night. “It’s so great to have Jarryd Hayne back in rugby league.

“Certain areas want to hammer Jarryd for his attitude and all this and I wish they’d just be quiet, sit back and watch this guy go this year.

Former NSW centre Ryan Girdler said a change in scenery will be the perfect tonic to help Hayne rediscover the form that fired him to win two Dally M Medals for being the best player in the game.

Although the 30-year-old was criticised for drifting out of games in the centres last year and had a relatively quiet State of Origin series by his lofty standards closer to the flank, Girdler believes Hayne is primed to make a big impact in a position that is still relatively new to him.

“He’s in the right environment too this year,” Girdler said on The Footy Show. “He was under a lot of pressure on the Gold Coast — he came in as a senior player and they expected a lot more from him off the field as well.

“He goes back among a really strong, core senior group there at Parramatta. They’re not going to be distracted by Jarryd and any of the off-field stuff that sometimes he can bring and they’ve got a really strong coach and with their senior group he’s just going to contribute to what they’re trying to achieve.

“In the centres he might be really hard to stop and we’re going to find that out on the weekend.”